


Everything We Didn't Say

by ListedThings



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types
Genre: Gen, Hurt/Comfort, Light Angst, Recovery, Whumptober 2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-31
Updated: 2019-10-31
Packaged: 2021-01-15 12:42:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,106
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21253565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ListedThings/pseuds/ListedThings
Summary: Jason isn’t sure when it happened, but they’d started reading together rather than trading books after some time. It was sort of nice. The kid could be cute when he wasn’t actively trying to get on Jason’s nerves all the time. And, that’s where Jason found himself today. In the living room of the manor, sitting on a couch in front of the fireplace sipping a hot cup of cocoa whilst he waited for Damian. Who should already be here.





	Everything We Didn't Say

It was Damian’s turn to pick out a book today.

They’d started trading books with each other when they’d accidentally discovered that the both of them liked a lot of similar books. It started off with Damian leaving a copy of _ A Tale of Two Cities _ in his safehouse. Jason had been surprised, to say the least, but he would be lying if he said that he hadn't thoroughly enjoyed it. It had been nice to settle down with a good book after a successful night of patrolling. And, he had returned the favour the next time he had visited the manor - Bruce was trying - and handed the kid _ Charlotte’s Web. _ Dick had looked so excited on the kid’s behalf. The face that Damian had made when he had seen the cover had been interesting - his nose had scrunched up and his eyes narrowed - but he’d taken it nonetheless and apparently read it. Jason had pictures - courtesy of Dick.

Jason isn’t sure when it happened, but they’d started reading together rather than trading books after some time. It was sort of nice. The kid could be cute when he wasn’t actively trying to get on Jason’s nerves all the time. And, that’s where Jason found himself today. In the living room of the manor, sitting on a couch in front of the fireplace sipping a hot cup of cocoa whilst he waited for Damian. Who should already be here. 

Though they had managed to get through a handful of books through-out the last two months, Jason had made it explicitly clear to the kid that _ Pride and Prejudice _ was off-limits and they would _ not _ be reading it together. Ever. 

A copy of _ Pride and Prejudice _ sat on Jason’s desk in his old room - the one room that he couldn’t bring himself to enter. He had been reading it before his gruesome death at the hands of the Joker, but he had never finished it. And, now, after everything, he still hadn’t finished it. Jason had read a couple of other books whenever he had the chance to, and he’d been doing more of that ever since Damian and he started reading together on Saturday nights - well, more like Jason read whilst Damian listened. The brat.

And he was fine with that. Fine with not knowing what happened at the end because he was scared to read something that had interested his past self. Thought that if he did read it now, he wouldn’t like it as much - or at all. Younger him had read a couple of chapters with Bruce - had neatly highlighted all the parts that his dad had liked and smiled at in those chapters. 

“Todd,” Damian said as he came to stand in front of him, a cup in one hand which he placed on the coffee table and a blanket in the other.

“Brat,” Jason said scooting over to make space for the kid even though he would end up pressed to Jason’s side sometime during the night. “Where’s the book?”

Damian’s eyes narrowed as they regarded him and Jason had a bad feeling. “Under the blanket,” he replied, settling down next to Jason. 

Jason grabbed Damian and pulled him against himself - the kid was going to end up in his lap towards the end of the night anyway so it didn’t really matter. Damian huffed and elbowed him before accepting defeat, and crossing his arms as he reluctantly settled next to Jason.

"Alright then," Jason said, "let's get-"

Jason tensed when he got a look at the book that Damian had gotten. They had had an agreement; no one was going to recommend Pride and Prejudice, but here was Damian with the stupid book and all of a sudden, Jason couldn't take in enough air.

"Todd," he heard the brat say, "you need to breathe."

That was easier said than done though. This didn't belong to him, this book, the memories, they weren't his. Not anymore. He didn't deserve them because he wasn't the same person.

Small hands roughly grabbed his face, and he found himself staring into bright jade eyes narrowed in worry. "Jason," he heard him say, "I need you to breathe, please."

Jason looked at him, at the kid in front of him. His kid brother, and tried to match his breathing. Because he couldn't do this to Damian. The kid had already been through a lot, and Jason wasn't going to saddle him with his own problems. So he took in gulps of air and tried calling his breath till it evened out into raspy breaths.

Damian was now fully in his lap, his cold and small hands clutching Jason's face. "Are you alright?" He whispered.

Jason felt himself not, and he grabbed Damian to get him to sit down properly and stop digging his bony knees into Jason but apparently, the kid clearly had other ideas since he refused to move.

"Damian," he said, his voice coming out raspy, "I'm fine."

"No, you are not," he replied, his own voice coming out wobbly. "You do not have to forget about your past, Jason, but you can not let it define your future either. Recovery takes time, but only works if you’re willing to move past it."

Jason looked at the book which was now on the floor. So he wasn't the same person - that much was correct. But Damian seemed to have a point as well.

"Boys," he heard and looked up to find Bruce standing at the entrance of the room holding his own cup of cocoa and a book in his hands.

"Yeah," Jason heard himself say, "everything's good."

"Tt. Todd's just being stupid," Damian said as he settled himself next to Jason and wrapped the blanket around himself.

Jason grinned and ruffled the kid's hair who started to squawk in protest. "Stupid? I think you mean cool."

"Don’t be absurd, Todd," Damian said as he shoved at him and managed to eventually elbow him in his side.

"Okay, okay that's enough," Bruce said as he settled down on Damian's other side and sandwiching him in between the both of them. "You guys fine with me joining in today?" Bruce held up a copy of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer. "And I've got a book we could read?"

Damian glanced at him when he said, "Tt. Of course."

Jason grinned as he pushed Damian farther into Bruce's side. "I'm cool with that."

Later that night, after Bruce had carried Damian to his room Jason lingered behind.

"Next time, kid," he promised, "we'll read Pride and Prejudice, and maybe cajole Bruce into joining us too."

**Author's Note:**

> Well, let me know what you thought about this!


End file.
